Sunday, 29 January 2012

Hero Of The Week: Dirk Kuyt

Do I need to elaborate on the significance of yesterday's FA Cup victory over our bitter rivals, Manchester United? Rhetorical questions aside, the week that's just passed was arguably the most important Liverpool Football Club has experienced on the pitch in the last two and a half years.

The confirmation of our first visit to Wembley since 1996 has already been discussed (see previous post). The second installment was complete yesterday, with a visit from the other team from Manchester. The 'only' team, accordingly to some.

Admittedly, we were second best on the day. Or so the statistics confirm. However it was once said that statistics aren't everything. Yesterday's result was indicative of that.

Over the years in this fixture, I've seen Manchester United perform the way we did yesterday, yet still come away with a result. Not yesterday. Statistics are a wonderful thing, but ultimately there's only one aspect that presents the cold hard facts in football. The score. That's where we prevailed.

Enter Dirk Kuyt. The man for the big occasion. The man who netted the winning goal.

Although it's largely been a disappointing season for the Dutch maestro, he has a history of turning it around on the back of below par performances. Yesterday, he proved it once again. You can't keep a good man down.

Aside from yesterday's heroics, Dirk Kuyt is the ultimate clubman. A player who runs himself into the ground. A player who posseses sheer determination. Every team wants one. Needs one. A player whose tireless work rate stems from his working class roots. A player who never gives in, always putting his hand up when the game's there to be won. A player who would run through a brick wall and come out the other side still smiling. That's Dirk Kuyt.

Dirk Kuyt is like the unfashionable girlfriend who doesn't stand out from the crowd. The girlfriend who's just 'there'. Only when she's gone you realise just how much you've lost. Dirk Kuyt's more than just part of the furniture. His mentality is the patchwork of Liverpool Football Club. The lifeblood. He'll leave us one day, but the memories he's given us will remain forever. Dirk Kuyt; the model pro. Dirk Kuyt; the warrior. Dirk Kuyt; my hero.